… the article is long, and scary as hell. It’s about children who are tentatively diagnosed as “callous-unemotional” - psychopaths in training.
My heart goes out to the parents. I have no idea how I could possibly handle something like that.
The website requires registration…is there anywhere else to view it?
Oh yes indeed, you can definitely start seeing signs of a sociopath at that age. In fact, I think that’s when they start showing up. (Torturing animals is a really big one, starting fires, etc.)
I guess I hope they find a cure for it. But if it’s innate and we can’t find a cure, then all the research will really be for nothing. It’s not like we can put people in jail because they have more potential to become violent criminals in the future.
I disagree. Whilst we may never find a cure as such, more research into this condition can only give us more tools and information as to how to treat these children so that future psychopathic behaviours might be contained.
Such a heartbreaking story though. Like Terr, I can’t begin to imagine being a parent to a child like that. It’s the stuff horror movies are made of.
I read the article also…scarey…it sounds like that old “Twilight Zone” episode, with Opie (who has supernatural powers).
But there’s also “Oppositional Defiance Disorder” (ODD)-which translate to: the kid doesn’t want to obey the parents.
And if it’s genetic, a test.
Off topic, with apologies: the child actor in the Twilight Zone episode ‘It’s a Good Life’ wasn’t Ron Howard but Bill Mumy. There certainly was a strong resemblance, though.
I recently watched this documentary: “Are You Good or Evil?”. It delves into the genetics and brain anatomy behind sociopathy. What is crazy is that the guy who helped to construct the genetic and neuroanatomical profile of sociopaths has the very traits that he identified.
The guy has a personality that friends and family said is difficult and sometimes scary, but he’s obviously a functional, productive member of society. His hypothesis for why he didn’t turn serial killer is that he had an idyllic childhood. Genes aren’t enough. I think we will find is the case with most genetic disorders.
Nah, that kid was just a little shit who needed a goodly hiding to bring him into line. My understanding is that the children mentioned in the NY Times article are a whole 'nother kettle of fish.
My daughter teaches 5th graders - mostly 10-11 y/o - and she claims she can tell already which kids are most likely to wind up in prison. Obviously, she doesn’t tell the kids or their parents, but she says she sees behaviors that indicate the kids are headed for trouble if someone doesn’t jerk a knot in their tails. She and her teaching team don’t put up with it, but who knows what will happen once them move into middle and high school?
Unfortunately, the article provides no indication that sociopathic behavior can be contained, much less reversed. The child under discussion only got worse at the facility attempting to treat him, and there was no indication that others improved.
What’s especially scary to me is the implication that reproducible changes in brain anatomy and/or physiology may be linked to sociopathy, providing a defense in criminal cases that could result in sociopaths being increasingly sent to treatment facilities instead of prison. Since they’re so good at feigning empathetic behavior, they could readily fool caregivers into thinking they’re dramatically improved and ready for release back into society.
This is one of the things I’m really afraid of, as a parent-to-be.
Callous and unemotional are two of the last words I would use to describe myself- my problem is that I can’t keep myself from crying when I’m upset, scared, or angry. Maybe my daughter will inherit that. That’s annoying, but it’s better than being a psychopath.
I’ve had several pass through my care over the years in education and in residential treatment that were, IM amateur O, psychopaths. A complete lack of empathy and a complete lack of contrition were linking themes.
Sadly, in a public school setting, we are unequipped to really handle these kids; at least in the schools where I have worked. When you have parents added to the mix who do not want to admit to themselves that there is a serious problem, matters are only made worse. We have only a little help to offer and the parents refuse that because it would mean something is “wrong” with their child. They choose, instead, to blame the system, the child’s peers, and society at large.
More than a few of these kids ended up doing serious time, usually not long after graduation from HS. Many more of them turn up on a frequent basis in the police blotter section of the local newspaper. Aggravated assault, defiant trespass, violation of PFA orders, and various “you [the police] ain’t the boss of me” type offenses are the norm.
In residential treatment, we could control their behaviors, but only as long as they were with us. Violent tantrums would get a client restrained and placed in the cool down room, where they could scream and curse for as long as they wished, but with no further interaction from staff. Generally, they got bored and wound down pretty quickly. It’s no fun acting crazy when there is nobody around to be intimidated or frightened by your display. The staff member observing you in the CDR is quite likely happy to simply pull up an easy chair and watch you act nuts as it is easier than other assignments he might have.
We could also grant and revoke privileges much more effectively in a lock-up type environment than is possible for a kid living at home. They had adults watching them, literally, during their every waking moment and periodically while they slept. When loss of privileges means being confined to your (stripped) room and lights out at 7 pm , even the hardest ones eventually came around and learned how to act at least somewhat right. As soon as they were out from under our supervision, though, a return to the previous behaviors was the norm. I can’t say we ever “cured” anybody.
I really think it’s a bad idea to house sociopaths with other sociopaths. They will feed off each other and continue learning more sophisticated manipulation techniques in a group setting. And if a kid learns to manipulate OTHER sociopaths, manipulating the neurotypical is a walk in the park, comparatively. It’s like a twisted training ground.
In the article they worked together, using code words to enact more serious mayhem than they were capable of on their own. I hardly think that’s a desirable effect, but it’s what’s going to happen if you try to treat mini-sociopaths in a group setting.
This kid and the way he fucked with his siblings (and their fear of him) reminds me of Peter from Ender’s Game. Although fictional, Peter’s character is astonishingly well-written… he’s a terrifying sociopath who uses his siblings in a variety of ways, but appears to be quite the charmer to adults.
When you work with people like this, regardless of their age, it is a good policy to increase your level of caution in direct proportion to how nice they are being at the moment. The tantrums are just as much of an effort to manipulate as being charming is; but most folks recognize the tantrum for what it is.
It’s the case for Down’s, but most parents who are told their [del]upcoming baby[/del]fetus has tested positive for Down’s choose to abort, at least in Spain.